Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Dunn.
Jessica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have lived in the Dallas area for almost 20 years after living in New York, New Jersey, Maine, and Oklahoma. I grew up the most in Oklahoma and went to school there… yes, I am a Sooner! After school, I moved to Dallas and gave myself two years to explore Dallas and then, thought I would try another state after that. Well, that plan didn’t work out as I am still here and love this area!
For the last 15 years, I have worked in the non-profit field at the American Red Cross (responding to Hurricane Katrina, Haiti, Super Storm Sandy and so many other states, national and local disasters including house and apartment fires), The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, The Dallas Stars Foundation, March of Dimes and for the last year, I have been the Vice President of Philanthropy in North Texas for LiftFund.
There are so many amazing non-profits in North Texas doing amazing work for the people and issues they serve and I have been so lucky to get to work, support or partner with many of them. That is one of the amazing things about the Dallas/North Texas area that when people see an issue they find ways to address it through partnerships, collaborations or creating non-profits/agencies to help.
In fact, I am guilty of that as well as I created Make 380 Safe on November 2018 as I saw the need for safety improvements for Highway 380. I have lived off of 380 for the last six years and due to the economic growth in this area, the number of car accidents including sadly fatality accidents kept increasing. After an accident took the lives of a 23 and 24-year-old in November 2018, the same messages would get posted about thoughts and prayers, something needs to change and so I said yes something will change. I created a petition that now has over 8,300 signatures asking for safety changes, we have over 20 volunteers on our Make 380 Safe Committee, hold quarterly round tables with our partners at TxDot, the cities and counties along 380 and State 380 Task Force Meetings with Representative Jared Patterson, Denton County Commissioner Hugh Coleman and all of our partners.
I have a list of things I want to try, places to go, adventures and goals that I add to all the time. One of them tried a pageant because why not and I am now Mrs. Texas Nationwide 2019 and will be competing in Omaha, Nebraska in September to bring the title hopefully to Texas!
I also love adventures esp. random Texas weekend road trips with my husband Josh and our sons Jackson and Cooper. Josh and I love showing the boys history while making it fun so recently we visited NASA in Houston to learn about space and celebrate the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary and check out the warships in Galveston to learn about Pearl Harbor.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In regards to my work, fundraising is never easy, haha! While I say there are so many great non-profits doing great work in North Texas, that means there are a lot of non-profits doing great work that are competing for the same pool of money in this area so it can be a challenge. Another challenge I experienced when I joined the LiftFund team in September 2018 was having to learn the world of banking and micro-finance… which is fascinating!
When it comes to Make 380 Safe, wow, so many challenges, haha! Highway 380 touches 2 counties and 17 different entities with most of them being unincorporated areas on this stretch of land. Everyone was trying to address the issues especially having a stronger police presence on the road but they were doing it as each city so being able to bring everyone to the table to collaborate has had a huge impact. However, having to learn about the laws or lack of building laws, how each unincorporated area functions, the back histories of the areas, how state road projects work, etc. have been a challenge for sure but everyone is so passionate about wanting to work together to make the situation better however they can.
LiftFund – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
LiftFund is a 501c3 non-profit and a Community Financial Development Institution. I love the work that I do through LiftFund as I get to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in North Texas by helping them achieve the funding they need to start or grow their business.
Sadly, a lot of small business owners especially women, minority and veterans hear no from traditional banks when they look for funding but at LiftFund we help them hear yes to their dreams. We provide microloans from $500-$500,000 and work with our clients to provide one on one business counseling and training to help them succeed. This year, we are celebrating 20 years in North Texas and in that time we have given out over $33 million in loans in North Texas alone!
While I have worked in non-profits, this opportunity was unique as I get to truly impact peoples economic situations, build neighborhoods through the development of small businesses, empower business owners, partner with cities, banks, and institutions that are rebuilding neighborhoods.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I have been so proud of all of the work I have done over the years and each opportunity has introduced me to new amazing people and wonderful partners. However, I think I am most proud of sort of figuring out the work-life balance with children. I am the proud mom to Jackson who is 10 and in 5th grade and Cooper who is six and in 1st grade and I love that through my work with LiftFund, I have also gotten to enjoy the small moments with them.
LiftFund grants us time off to volunteer so I have been able to join my sons on their field trips or attend their class parties. That means the world to me as time definitely flies by, so I don’t want to sacrifice work for family or family for work and I think I have found that balance in my current work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8828 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas
- Website: LiftFund
- Phone: 2145588447
- Email: jdunn@liftfund.com
- Instagram: LiftFundUS
- Facebook: LiftFundUS
- Twitter: LiftFundUS
Image Credit:
Joshua Dunn, Jessica Dunn
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